


Home

by Blue_Hood



Series: Renegades [2]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Domestic, F/M, Found Family, Home, Redemption, Superfamily (DCU), Training, Villains to Heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-07-24 18:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20019139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Hood/pseuds/Blue_Hood
Summary: After Cadmus, everyone must find their place





	1. Green

**Cameron's POV**

Green Lantern wrapped us- me, the twins, the one armed Speedy, Green Arrow and Black Canary- in a bubble and flew into space to keep the trip short before setting us down outside a mansion. Looking around, I said "Explains how you can host all three of us."

"Host? Adopt? What's the difference?"

"We're fugitives and I don't do well in hot places."

"Right. Let's go inside," said Green Arrow, pulling out his key as he approached his back door. Inside, he pushed back his hood and took off his mask, "I'm Oliver Queen, by the way and Speedy's Roy Harper."

Black Canary introduced "I'm Dinah Lance."

"Cameron Mahkent, don't call me Junior. I am so over Joar."

Oliver nodded, locking the door again. "I'll show you to your rooms." He showed us upstairs to three rooms next to each other. Tommy took the room in the middle.

The next morning, I came down to find clothes with a sticky note on them that read  _ Cameron _ . I took my tank top and shorts back to my room. When I came back down, Roy was waiting at the base of the stairs to show me to the kitchen where the twins were sitting at the table in matching shirts and jeans. Oliver asked "How long has it been since you ate?"

"Maybe a couple days," I answered, "Not like we can dine and dash with the cameras diners have but we haven't had much luck dumpster diving. Torch barely ate at all since we escaped."

"Before the League, Torch was homeless." Oliver busied himself making them breakfast "I'll be working from home today while the League takes care of your legal status and gets the Super Twins legal papers."

"About that," I said, "As we were escaping Cadmus, Dubbilex told me Project Match's instability came from his body not his mind. He said the best he could do was put Match in a trance. When I asked if there was a way to fix him, Dubbilex said perhaps. He didn't explain but Match still needs help." I glanced at Roy before deciding to let the matter of Artemis slide for now.

"I'll let the League know. While you're here, try not to wreck anything and if you go outside, stay away from the fence. Other than that, feel free to eat whatever is in the kitchen and explore, just don't pick locks or break down any locked doors." We all nodded. "I'm gonna check with a fellow Leaguer based in Detroit about adopting you, Cameron so you won't have to deal with California heat waves anymore."

"Thanks."

"As for you two," he addressed the twins "My offer stands on three conditions. One, you have to dress respectably so no ripped shirts and padlock necklaces in your civilian identity. Two, you have to attend school and behave. Three, Roy is heir to my company, it's not a competition."

"Which Roy?" asked the one-armed man.

Oliver said "Honestly it depends on how we spin the fact there's two of you. If we can explain you're the original without blowing our cover then you." He turned to the twins "Do we have a deal?"

I couldn't resist pointing out "You'll probably have along with whichever Roy doesn't get the company."

Oliver shrugged "Probably."

They quickly agreed, though Tommy said "We don't need no trust funds."

I burst out laughing and everyone looked at me. When I collected myself, I told Oliver "Forget the clone and the handicap, how are you gonna explain taking in two southern teens who look like the Terror Twins?"

Oliver scratched his head as he busied himself again with the food he was making, Roy and Tommy stood to help him lay everything out. The billionaire said "I'm not sure how anything is gonna work out. All I know is, I have the motive and means to help you so I'm gonna do it. I don't know how I'm gonna explain how I went from one ward to four. We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Your friend in Detroit?"

"Green Lantern, he was Torch's mentor. He even moved from a studio apartment to a two bedroom so he could take Torch in. That was before we voted Torch in and gave him a room at base." Oliver shrugged "I have a few ideas in case GL doesn't pan out. I'll be sure to include cold winters in the search parameters, can't exactly drop you at Mt. Justice in Happy Harbor. If heat is an issue then a beach side place is a bad idea."

"Right."

Oliver finished his breakfast "You have the run of the place. Debrief is this afternoon then you'll be in the clear."

I held up a finger and told Oliver "Hold on a second." I turned to Tommy with a smirk, "Y'know what this means?" Pointing a thumb at Roy "New little brother." To Roy, I said "I'd run." He did as Tommy chased him. "He's not gonna hurt Roy much, definitely won't break anything." I glanced at Tuppence, "I have to." Before turning back to Oliver "Artemis Crock is an archer, daughter of Sportsmaster and Huntress, sister of Cheshire." I hunched my shoulders, "She's like me with the whole villain dad thing but unlike me, she's managed to stay out of the life. I didn't know about Roy being cloned before but I thought you could look into it."

"I will, thanks for letting me know."

Tuppence said "He's been going on and on about helping Artemis ever since Dean mentioned how lucky he was to be found by the League."

"He didn't know not everyone's fireproof the first time he rescued people."

While we were arguing, Oliver slipped out of the room. Tommy eventually dragged Roy back into the kitchen, holding him from behind. "Hey little brother," Tuppence greeted Roy.

"Call him off," barked Roy.

I jumped between them "You don't want that, Roy. She's worse, trust me." Glancing back at my pseudo-sister, I squeaked "Bye."

About an hour later, Roy ran into the room I was watching TV in and cried "Help."

I told him "Sit down so I can chill the door."

When it was time to leave, everyone was much calmer. I helped Roy into his old uniform and we went through a giant metal tube to a space station. "Uh, where are we?"

"Welcome to the Watchtower, headquarters of the Justice League," said Torch as he walked over to us, "Follow me," and kept going. I ran after him, freezing the floor into a sheet of ice as I went. I only know what I did because I saw Tommy help Speedy and Tuppence help Green Arrow glide like the pros the twins are before stepping off. One look from Torch and I retraced my steps to retract the ice, running barefoot across cold but not frozen metal floors back to the meeting room. Sitting beside Torch, I saw Green Lantern take the other seat beside me. We had to wait for Aquaman, Aqualad, Flash and Kid Flash AKA people I didn't know were invited nor why. Martian Manhunter had a Martian girl sitting beside him with Dubbilex on the other side. Batman and Superman sat at the head of the table, Robin and Match on either side. Superboy was closer to me and Torch than Green Arrow's party.

After everyone was there, Batman began the meeting. By having those of us who were at Cadmus tell our story, a lot of details were repeated. A few things, like Torch burning Desmond's lab, were learned. Martian Manhunter assured everyone that any psychic tampering had been removed when Guardian struggled to tell his story. After we all went around telling our stories, I raised my hand. Batman called on me "Icicle Junior?"

"I want nothing to do with Joar so don't call me Junior." I growled before speaking up "What's the League gonna do about Match's instability?"

"We will investigate and we will find a cure."

"There's already a cure or else Superboy would be unstable," said Torch.

When everyone turned to him, Dubbilex explained "I believe Superboy may be only half Kryptonian though there is no official record of another donor."

I said "Right so can Match's DNA be, I don't know, spliced with human DNA or something?"

Batman answered "We will investigate all avenues."

"Including a better stop gap measure to buy time to fully consider alternatives," said Green Arrow.

"This is where we part then," I tried to sound joking but it came out depressed.

"Not quite," said Torch. "As I'm sure you've noticed, my fellow Leaguers brought their partners. Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter, you will work as a covert team with other young heroes to investigate potential similar operations. In fact," he smiled "Cadmus makes you the experts on covert investigations."

Canary interrupted "However, all members of the team will be required to participate in training where you will learn hand-to-hand combat skills."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get over dependent on our powers, Torch has gone on and on about how much we do that." I smiled "But we'll get to work with each other more than once in a blue moon."

"The moon is blue," argued Superboy.

"Actually it's white," corrected Robin.

Torch groaned as the two started bickering "You're both pretty."

"And you're both right," said Superman. "Yesterday the League went to Cadmus after fighting a sorcerer who wanted to blot out the sun. Moonlight is just sunlight reflected off the moon. Last night the moon may have looked blue but it normally appears white."

"Oh, that makes sense," conceded Superboy with Robin grudgingly agreeing.

"Now that's settled," I turned to Flash "We need to talk after the meeting."

"Okay," Flash sounded unsure.

"Nothing bad, just an idea I want to run by you."

Torch said "Back to the team idea."

I asked "Can we pick our name?"

"Name?" Batman said "This is a covert team."

"I just thought my team should have a name you guys could use."

"Your team?" Robin laughed "Like we'd follow you."

Before I could say anything a stream of fire came between me and Robin. Everyone looked at Torch, who said "Thank you, Robin. You just proved my point that kid heroes and ex-cons can't work together." He looked at me "Cameron can't be your codename. How does Arctic sound, Arc for short?"

"Arctic," I tried the name out "I like it."

"Good, it was the only name I could think of that wasn't tied to a villain name. Frost, Killer Frost; Freeze, Mr. Freeze; Ice, Icicle. You get the picture. Arctic was the best I could come up with."

"Thanks."

Turning back to Robin, "If you'd been paying attention then you'd know that the team will not be deployed until all members have developed acceptable hand-to-hand combat skills. Chances are Kid Flash will struggle with slowing down enough to absorb the lessons, Superboy and the Terror Twins will struggle with anger management, and you may struggle with patience. Until you can all work as a team, you will not be treated as one." He looked at the Leaguers "Does anyone have any actual objection to the Team naming itself?"

"No," answered Green Arrow "But, I think they should have to agree on a name which means none of us can settle any arguments about their name."

"Agreed. Moving on," Torch was angry- as angry as he let himself get- he said' "unless there are any further matters up for discussion, this meeting is over."

"Where is this team gonna be based?" I asked since everyone else was too scared to speak.

Black Canary answered "Mt. Justice, the original headquarters for the Justice League."

"Hiding in plain sight," I grinned "Cool." Turning to Green Lantern, "So, after this meeting I'm your problem, right?"

"After this meeting, Batman will give us all paperwork that makes us your legal guardians."

"Cool."

Batman said "In your particular case, you'll be issued a bracelet that will project a holographic cloak, giving you the appearance of real, albino skin." Keeping me out of sunlight and keeping attention off of me helped a ton, my blue skin being passed off as sickly albino. In response to Batman's words, I just nodded.

"Albino means white, doesn't it?" asked Match, surprising everyone by breaking his silence.

"Albinos are a kind of very pale people, caucasian refers to regular white people," answered Robin.

Match silently nodded his head and I said "Speaking of strange colors, is Match gonna need special contacts? His whites are black. Also, what's his name now?"

After a moment of silence, Superman answered "Matt, er, Matthew."

Superboy said "And I'm Conner."

"Nice play on Match and Kr," I said. "Alright, I think everything's covered. How soon can we start training together?"

Green Lantern chuckled "Getting ahead of yourself there. The Mountain will be ready in about a week."

Green Arrow added "If all this excitement is about staying in touch, you should know that you'll all have cellphones soon enough and you can call each on them."

Torch finished "Black Canary and I will be in charge of training. Martian Manhunter will live at the base full time as Miss Martian's legal guardian. Batman will deploy you on missions when you're ready." He looked around at each of us in turn "This team will be a way for you all to surpass the current generation when you take over our job in the future. To do that, you'll have to learn acceptance not just how to fight but when not to fight."

I said "Okay," the twins and the kid heroes echoed the sentiment.

Looking at Speedy, Torch squinted before turning to Batman "If we can stabilize a Kryptonian clone then we must be able to make a useable prosthetic for an archer."

"I'll look into it," Batman almost smiled "Welcome back, Torch."

"How does that work?" When I got the are-you-stupid look, I asked "How is Torch still in the Justice League? Most people think he's a renegade arsonist." Looking around the table, I said "The Renegades, how's that for a team name?"

Tommy said "I like it, renegade."

Kid Flash huffed and said "Renegade is just another word for Rogue so in a way, you're naming the team after villains."

"Who cares?" Robin said "We're gonna be a covert team, it's not like we're going public with the name and it fits. Like Torch said, we're gonna be better than the League is now. Renegades go against the status quo, kinda like we are as a covert team of heroes."

"Right," Kid Flash said "I'm sold. Just one more question before the meeting ends."

I said "No one's answered my question."

Torch answered "The League is gonna claim they staged the whole thing. They're gonna say they suspected Belle Reve's corruption and arranged my arrest to send in a spy, the fires were normal not my smokeless flames."

Tommy demanded "Was it all a lie?"

"Actually, aside from my innocence, none of it was a lie."

Robin explained "A teenage metahuman from that school that got taken over by its metahuman students caused the fires. Razor proved that the other teen was being blackmailed into doing it, his family was held hostage and he was trying to find them while starting fires wherever the captors told him to. Long story short, the other Torch is in protective custody with his family. The League now oversees metahuman help centers, places for new metas to get help with sudden powers, to make sure they're not weaponizing the kids."

"Wow," I said, "What was your question, Kid Flash?"

The speedster stuttered a bit before saying "I was wondering if Speedy was gonna join the Renegades."

I turned to the one-armed man "What do ya say?"

"I actually meant the other one, no offense."

I waved him off "Clones don't have a choice because the League needs to keep an eye on 'em."

Green Arrow ducked his head "Hate to say it but he's right. The League wants to keep an eye on everyone that came from Cadmus but," he looked at his original partner "You don't have to join the team."

"I want to. Might be the best way to test my prosthetic when I get it."

"Okay, you and your clone need to talk about names."

"No, we don't." Said clone argued "Because I'm not Speedy anymore, the name's Red Arrow."

I smirked "Very original." I looked at Dubbilex "What was the project name? And how come Superboy's pod said Kr?"

"Big K, little r?" asked Kid Flash. I nodded. "It's the atomic symbol for Krypton, the element."

"Oh." I looked at Dubbilex "Clone Speedy was Project?"

"Red Arrow," answered the genomorph.

"Heh," the look on the archer's face was priceless.

"Is anything real?"

I jumped out of my seat "Don't. Don't go down that rabbit hole. We are not in Wonderland."

"Your reaction seems a bit extreme," said the Martian girl.

I took a few deep breaths and sat down. Channeling my inner Torch, I said "Let's go around and do names because I'm not sure everyone knows everyone and the clone thing just makes it worse, codenames ideally but really we need a way to tell everyone apart."

Beside me, Green Lantern started "Green Lantern John Stewart, Earth has three Green Lanterns."

"Arctic," I said as he finished.

"Torch."

"I am Aqualad."

At this point everyone just decided to go with it, I'm guessing since no one huffed or showed any indication they felt stupid saying their name. "Aquaman."

"Kid Flash, y'know I wish people would ask instead of calling me Flash Boy or Speedy."

"I know, bud." The scarlet speedster turned to the room "Hi, I'm the Flash."

"I'm Guardian."

"I'm Superboy."

"Project Match." Superboy elbowed him and he sighed "I don't have a codename so I guess Match will have to do."

I suggest "Why not call you Krypton or something?"

"Rao," said Superman.

"What's Rao?"

Torch answered "Krypton's god and no you can't suggest Rao for a codename."

Robin suggested "What about Argo or Kandor?"

Match snapped "What about we make sure I don't die then worry about codenames?"

"Calm yourself, brother. Stress and anger may only exacerbate your condition, they will not cure you." Taking the opportunity, he said "My name is Dubbilex."

Beside Match, the Man of Steel said with a blush and a shyly raised hand "Superman."

"I'm Batman," was said with all its iconic glory.

"Robin," said his partner.

On the other side of Dubbilex, "I am Martian Manhunter."

Full of shyness, the girl beside him said "I'm his niece, my codename is Miss Martian."

"Tuppence Terror and this is my brother Tommy."

"You two might need new names to be heroes," said Green Arrow before introducing himself.

"I am, or I was Speedy, his partner."

In an equally unsure tone, the redhead beside him said "I'm Red Arrow."

"Black Canary," the heroine interrupted before Red Arrow could second guess himself. "Now that we all know each other's names, is there anything else on the agenda?"

I asked "Are we gonna be required to do therapy because I think that the clones and I could use it? Real therapy not Dr. Strange's bullcrap."

Black Canary said "If you'd like, I am a licensed psychiatrist."

"Alright," I said.

Batman said "If nothing else needs discussing then this meeting is adjourned. Lantern, Arrow, Superman, you will all have the necessary legal paperwork for your new charges by tomorrow evening. Guardian, Dubbilex, I'd like you to stay on the Watchtower under observation until Project Cadmus can be properly investigated in full. Dismissed."

I almost left without talking to the Flash, who caught me at the Zeta Tube. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"Nothing bad, like I said. I was just wondering what power Captain Cold's collar inhibits. If he doesn't have one, why's in Belle Reve? Aren't shock collars illegal to use on humans?"

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

I followed Green Lantern through the Zeta Tube, as he called it. He took off his ring in the alley it took us to. "What?"

Lantern chuckled "That's right, GL has one of the big ones." He pointed to the phone booth behind us "That's a relay station."

"Oh, where'd your-?"

"The ring projects the suit," he pocketed the ring. "Follow me." His apartment was a few blocks away. Shutting and locking the door behind us, John explained "STAR Labs has one of the big tubes in case our relay fails. STAR Labs' ties to the Justice League make them a pretty big target for a reason."

"Okay, I honestly don't care."

"Fair enough. Sit down." We sat on the living room couch and John asked "When's the last time you went to school? Last grade?"

"Uh, never. I've never been to school but I lived in California and with my mutation, heat could kill me."

"Alright then we'll have to give you a placement test, maybe we can even fast track some credits."

"O-kay. Is this the house rules talk?"

"Yeah, pretty much. You're 15, that makes you old enough to start driver's ed if you want."

"Yeah and next year I'll be old enough for a job."

"Right."

"What are the house rules?"

John said "I like to think I'm pretty laid back. If you're gonna eat out with friends, let me know so I don't make dinner for two. You'll have a 9 o'clock curfew on school nights, that's Sunday to Thursday night. Keep your room clean and your grades up. Nothing too bad. I think Batman's working on a regulator for your cloak so you can go out in the summer, though he's probably thinking about making it for strategic reasons."

"Chores?"

"If I ask you to do them, don't expect an allowance out of it because money's gonna be kinda tight until I figure out a working budget."

"Okay."

"Any questions?"

I decided to just go for it "What happens if I break the rules?"

"If you're doing missions with the team or patrolling with me and you break the rules, those will be the first privileges to go. If I say you're grounded, that means be home by 6, asleep by 8 and no phone until you're not grounded."

"Okay."

John stood and I followed him down the short hallway. He pointed to the door on the left “Your room’s through here, the clothes are Dean’s size so they’re probably too big for you.” On the right “That’s the bathroom and my room’s right here,” he pointed at the door in front of us. Turning to me, he said “We’ll have to wait until your paperwork goes through before we can do much.”

“When’s my placement test?”

“Later this week, probably.”

I nodded before checking out my room. It was nice and simple, which was a relief. There was a twin mattress pushed up against a wall with a box spring beneath it and blue bedding. A dresser sat beside the window, a couple boxes on top. Looking at them, I see there’s an unopened cell phone and a pair of headphones on top of two shoe boxes. John watched from the doorway as I looked through my stuff. The clothes weren’t too bad, I’d definitely worn worse fitting. As I pulled ‘em out, I noticed the tags were still on them. Putting the clothes back, I turned back to John “The clothes all have the tags so if they really don’t fit then we could trade them at the store, right?” I shrugged, “They’ll probably fit fine.”

“Right.” He pointed behind him “Toothbrush is still in the box on the counter.” He explained, “There’s some leftovers in the fridge you can microwave. You’re not in school so there’s no curfew but if you do go out, be sure to wear your bracelet and shoes. You can watch TV in the living room if you want.” John shrugged, “I’m going out to meet up with some old Marine buddies. If you hear a noise outside the door like a fight, stay inside and don’t get involved. If it sounds serious, call 9-1-1.”

“Cops will want to question me if I do that.”

John sighed “Right.” He shrugged, “Well, this is a pretty safe neighborhood, just be careful if you go out and leave a note, I’ve got a list of numbers I’m gonna put on the fridge. Take your phone with you if you go somewhere.”

“Okay.”

“Any questions?”

I started to shake my head when I thought of one “You said if I was patrolling then that’d be the first privilege you’d take away, does that mean you’re thinking about us patrolling?”

“Yeah, I’m thinking we’ll start after you get settled in at school. It won’t be as warm then so it’ll be easier for you, I think.”

“Okay. That’s all I wanted to ask right now.”

“Alright.” John asked “Do you want your door open or closed?”

“Open.”

He left me alone in my room. I opened the first shoe box, moving my phone and headphones to the side. Inside the box were a pair of dark blue sneakers, I tried them on with a pair of socks from my top drawer. While most things I could live with being too big, I don’t think I could go to school wearing tennis shoes that fell off my feet when I sat down to tie them. In the other box were a pair of boots, they wouldn’t fall off my feet but they were still too big. Putting the shoes back in the box, I closed my door and began trying on my clothes. I made two piles on my bed, clothes I could make due with and clothes that would fall off me. Putting the first pile away, I had to figure out what to do with my sneakers and all these clothes that were way too big. I took off my cloaking bracelet, which Batman put on as I was leaving the meeting room, and put on my sneakers. Taking careful steps, I joined John in the living room before taking a normal step and almost faceplanting as my feet came out. John smirked “You could’ve just said they were too big.”

I stepped out of the one I was still wearing, “About half the clothes fit about as well as these.”

“They’re all too big, aren’t they?”

“I can make due.”

John sighed and I knew I said something wrong, he must’ve seen the fear on my face because he was quick to assure me I didn’t do anything wrong. “It’s just that baggy clothing can be a red flag for cops.”

“Oh, okay, got it.”

“Let’s start with your sneakers and a few bags of your summer clothes. If I need to explain, I can say I got your sizes wrong when you came to live with me.”

“Okay.” I took the sneakers back to my room while he got some grocery bags.

Dropping the bags on my bed, John handed me a key ring “Here’s keys to our apartment and mailbox.”

After I put the keychain in my pocket, we filled the bags with my pile of way too big clothes. I followed John to the department store exchanges desk, where he explained he got my size wrong when he was setting up my room, which is true. The man at the desk scanned all the items back in and asked if we had more, John told him yes but we only brought what we could carry. The clerk gave us a receipt worth the value of the clothes so we could go to a regular check out. We put the new clothes away right before John left, giving me the run of the place.


	2. Super

They were home for an hour when Lois Lane knocked on the door. When Clark answered, she saw muscled her way in upon seeing two other people. “Is this why you weren’t at work today?”

Clark said “Lois, meet my sons Matthew and Conner.” When Match looked up, Lois got a good look at his blue on black eyes.

“Oh my god, what’s with his eyes?”

Clark told his sons “She knows.”

“Figured it out pretty quick once I realized Superman acted too human to be new to Earth,” added Lois.

The two teens stood simultaneously, Conner said “I am Project Kr, a half-Kryptonian clone.” Pointing to his brother, “He’s Project Match, a full Kryptonian clone.”

Clark said “Match is unstable.” Pointing between them, “Lois, meet Conner and Matthew Kent.”

Lois asked “What would it take to stabilize Matthew, was it?”

Conner answered “They said DNA splicing might fix it but he wouldn’t have full Kryptonian powers.”

“So,” Lois addressed Matt, “Your powers or your life? That’s the deal?”

“They’re looking for another way but,”

Conner snapped “It’s not that simple. We were created to replace him. Without powers, we can’t do that.”

Clark grimaced and confirmed, “There’s a chance that human DNA may override the Kryptonian, assuming the splice is successful.”

Lois asked Conner “Who’s your human, whaddya call it,”

“Donor,” suggested Clark.”

“Yeah.” Lois asked “Who’s your human donor?”

Conner shrugged “Don’t know. We only know I have one because Matt’s instability comes from his body not his mind.” He looked at Clark “Did I say it right? Matt not Match, right?”

“Yes,” answered Clark.

Lois faced the man from Krypton “If you go the splicing route, let me know.”

Conner asked “Are you offering DNA? Or do you just want the story or something?” He faltered near the end.

“DNA,” answered Lois.

Clark said “Before you ask, I don’t know how it would work.”

Lois asked Conner “How old are you two?”

“Two hours.” When she only blinked at him, he realized what he said “I mean 16.”  
“Stick with 16, you look it.” To Clark, she said “You’re gonna need to come up with an explanation for two teenage sons.”

Thinking fast, Conner said, “High school girlfriend gave us up, never told you about the pregnancy. You only just found out because Matt’s condition made the doctors start a search for relatives. Our mom was called because she’s on our birth certificates, she gave them your name.”

Lois gaped at him for a full minute, “That works. Does Matt talk?”

“Selective mute,” offered Conner. He amended “No, I haven’t heard him talk, in a while,” he finished lamely. “I’m gonna have to work on that, aren’t I?”

“Yes, definitely.” Lois turned to Clark “You got that, Smallville?”

“Yes.”

Matt asked “Why’d you call him Smallville?” gaining everyone’s attention.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you talk,” said Conner before wincing.

Clark said “You don’t have to lie around Lois, just keep working on your story.”  
Lois advised “Try to keep it simple. We’ll need to figure out what kind of condition makes a person’s eyes turn that color.” To Clark, she said, “C’mon, let’s fill in the blanks.”

Conner asked “Why can’t we just say it’s extremely rare and hard to pronounce?”

“We could do that but for your medical records,” began Lois.

“Batman’s making those, isn’t he?” countered Conner. “He’ll probably give us a copy to memorize.”

“Alright then, smart guy, what was your mother’s name?”

“How should I know? I grew up in foster care.”

“There's hope for you yet,” Lois held her hand up for a high five. Conner looked at his father before very gently hitting her hand. To Clark, she said “You'll need to get a new place so the boys can have beds, at least.”

“Batman works in mysterious ways,” said Conner before asking Clark “Can we go out?” Matt slipped his glasses on, the lenses projected green eyes.

Clark nodded “Be careful and don't use your powers.”

“We will. C'mon Matt.” His brother followed him out.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Clark asked, “What do you think? I'll cover Torch's return to the Justice League and the probation of three teen supervillains to buy time with Perry.”

“Yeah. After Matt's treatment tomorrow, you should bring them to the office.”

“Tomorrow? Conner does all the talking and you heard how much he trips up.”

“If he smiles when he does it then it'll be written off as a joke.”

“Okay. Treatment?”

“I assume STAR Labs is going to be their hospital, which could work with the rare condition cover story but you should still say Metropolis General when asked.”

“Okay. They spent half their lives with Matt in the hospital.”

“That's good, Smallville. Mother's name?”

“Chloe Sullivan?”

“Think she'll play along?”

“Yeah if needed.”

“How do you tell the twins apart?”

“Color code, Matt wears red and Conner wears blue.”

“And in costume?”

“Match doesn't even have a codename.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lois took a few moments to calm down “Clearly powers are important to them, you need to come up with a codename.”

“Kandor or Krypt-“

“Krypt, that works.”

“On,” finished Clark lamely. “You think Krypt is a good codename?”

“Better than candor,” argued Lois.

“Kandor was the capital of Krypton.”

“It's too bad Superboy is taken by Kr.” She looked at him, “It is, right?”

“Right.” Clark decided “I need to talk to Kara.”

“Good idea.”

Changing into Superman, he asked “Could you stay here and wait for the twins?”

“Sure thing.”

“Kara would know how to do Kryptonian names?”

“Go, go, see you later.”

In National City, Eliza Danvers let him in “What's so important you had to fly here immediately?”

Sitting down at the table with the Danvers, he said “Cadmus created two clones of me, Projects Match and Kr. I'd like to give them proper Kryptonian names so I need to know how that works.”

“I have two more cousins?” said Kara.

“Teenagers, yes. Physically they're 16, though they were _born_ a few hours ago.”

“Okay, what're their human names? Are they boys?”

“Kr is Conner and Match is Matthew, they're near identical twin boys.”

“Okay. Conner's Kryptonian name can be Kon-El, or Kon of House El. My name, Kara Zor-El means Kara daughter of Zor-El. Your father's name was Jor-El, you could name Matt after either of our fathers.”

“Of course.”

“Or you could create your own name. It's your choice.”

“Does length matter?”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don't know.” Superman suggested “Mon-El maybe?”

“Mon-El, let me show you how to write them.” She retrieved a pen and a pad of paper drawing Kal-El with two lines below pointing to Mon-El and Kon-El. She wrote the names in English below the Kryptonian symbols. “I want to see my new cousins.”

“Okay but Mon-El is called Match because he's an exact genetic match, the cloning process left him unstable. We believe Kon-El has a human donor to bridge the instability.”

Kara worried her bottom lip, “On Krypton we had a genesis chamber, which was sorta like a cloning chamber in that a child is created from DNA samples.”

“Okay?” Her cousin asked “Would the Fortress have data on this?”

“Probably.”

“Thanks for the help.”

“I want to meet my cousins.”

Standing up from the table, Kal-El chuggled, “You will. Stabilizing Mon-El is my priority.” After a moment, he told his cousin’s adopted parents “If it’s alright with you, I’ll take Kara to Smallville tomorrow after work to meet the twins.”

“That would be fine,” assured Jeremiah, “As long as she’s back by curfew.”

Kal-El hesitated before asking “The twins are physically 16 so what curfew should they have?”

Eliza said “We can talk about that when Mon-El is better.”

“Right. Thank you.” Kara hugged her cousin before he left. Returning to his apartment, he told Lois “Kara thinks the Fortress might have some useful information. I’m going to take Batman there tonight, would you mind staying here?”

“You want me to stay here to babysit teenagers.”

“We need to watch Matt for signs of degeneration.”

“Alright, Smallville. Is that all you got from your visit with your cousin?”

“If either clones were girls then they’d have Kal-El for a last name but since they’re both boys, Mon-El and Kon-El work for Krytonian names. Kara even wrote them out for me,” he handed her the paper.

“This is your names in Kryptonian?”

“Yeah.”

“Why Mon-El?”

“Kara suggested Kon-El and I wasn’t sure about the Kryptonian alphabet so I suggested Mon-El. Kal-El means Kal of House El and Kara Zor-El means Kara, daughter of Zor-El.”

Lois smiled “Makes me glad human names don’t work that way. Anything else?”

“After work tomorrow, we’re all going to the farm so Ma, Pa and Kara can meet the twins.” Clark said, “I never expected to have kids so I’m sure Ma and Pa never expected grandkids because of the whole alien thing.”

“But your anatomy is mostly the same?” Lois asked “How come-?”

“My powers.”

“What but-?”

“Lois, think about it. People lose their self-control during sex, if I did that-“

“You’d kill your partner.”

“Yeah. So,”

“I’ll keep an eye on the kids but remember, you have to bring them into work tomorrow if you want to keep your job.”

“Right. Thanks, Lois.” He flew to the Batcave, “Batman.”

“Clark.”

Superman ignored the slip, knowing his friend did it to express his annoyance, “I visited my cousin, Kara and she said that Krypton had something called a genesis chamber which worked a lot like cloning. I was wondering if you could come to the Fortress with me to check it out, I’m sure the Fortress will have information since it's part of my heritage but I’m not sure I’d know what information would be relevant.”

Batman turned away from the Batcomputer to face him, “You want me to go with you to the Fortress of Solitude to look into Kryptonian birthing rituals that may be relevant to a cloning case?”

“Er, yes.”

The corners of Batman’s lips twitched up in the hint of a smirk, “Let’s go.”

Superman said “I think flying would be the most expedient, I know we have Zeta Tubes-“

Batman interrupted “It’s your place.”

Picking him up and taking off out of the cave, Superman asked “Are you okay? You seem,” he searched for the right word “Strangely compliant.”

“I was hitting a few dead ends, even splicing is decades away from current science or at least it’s supposed to be.” Batman added “I’d be a fool not to consider alien science as a solution for an alien problem.” Superman mentally shrugged. “So, what else came of your meeting with Kara?”

“I learned about Kryptonian naming traditions, Kara showed me how to write my name, Mon-El and Kon-El in Kryptonian. We’re all going to the farm so that my parents and Kara can meet the twins, and vice versa.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow, after work. Do you think it’d be a good idea to bring the twins into work to establish their existence?”

“It’s your choice. However, you’ll need to coach them so that they don’t slip up.”

“Lois is already on it, bringing them into work was her idea. Matt barely talks so Conner does a lot of the talking for them.”

“Good to know.”

They landed outside the Fortress and Superman set Batman down to open the door. Going in, he led Batman straight to the computer. Using his DNA to turn the computer on, he asked “The science of a genesis chamber?”

After affirming the command, the computer delivered a lecture on binding and the role of the genesis chamber. All of which, Batman recorded. Theoretically, DNA from two males could work as well as DNA from one male and one female. This set Batman’s research into Kon-El’s human donor back because he’d been working with the assumption that the human donor had to be female, a pseudo-mother. Before they left, Superman quietly asked “Is there anything else you need to know?”

“A copy of the Kryptonian genome would be helpful to find where Kon’s Kryptonian DNA begins and ends.”

Kal-El made the request of the computer and Batman took a picture of the hologram before turning to leave, Superman following. “If that’s all, I still have time to call Ma and Pa about the visit before it gets too late.”

“The information will be very helpful, Kal.”

It was then that Superman realized he’d also used Conner’s Kryptonian name, “I’ll fly you home then.”

Before leaving the Batcave, Superman told Batman their cover story so he could make the necessary paperwork. Flying to the family farm, he quickly changed before sitting down with his parents, well aware of the awkwardness they felt seeing him in uniform. “Ma, Pa, I uh have some news to share.”

“What is it, son?” asked Jonathan Kent.

“Remember when we realized that being Kryptonian, I’d probably never have kids?” Clark said “There was this thing in DC, we don’t know much about it yet. We know Cadmus is not what it seems because two teenage clones, Project Kr and Project Match were discovered and released, rescued I suppose is the better word. They were clones of me, Batman’s working on something to stabilize Match’s DNA and we think human DNA was used to stabilize Kr.”

“Match? Kr?” echoed Jon.

Martha Kent asked “Are you telling us we have grandkids?”

Clark nodded “Two almost identical boys, Matthew and Conner, Match and Kr, Mon-El and Kon-El.” With a nervous smile, he said, “Now all they need is codenames and they’ll be set. Conner is Superboy but Matt doesn’t have a codename yet and we’re not going to look for one until we know he’ll pull through.”

“Who is Conner’s human donor?” asked Martha.

“We don’t know. I just gave Bruce information on Kryptonian genetics. Matt is the priority because he’s unstable. Dubbilex, who helped us discover Cadmus’ secret, put him in a trance on the way out to keep him from exacerbating his condition. I’m not sure he can access all of his powers in his trance but he does have full Kryptonian powers from what we can tell.”

“There seems to be a lot you don’t know,” said Jon.

“Torch, he led the team that rescued the clones,” Clark cringed and corrected himself, “I mean the twins. He said some things that made me realize that if I turned my back on them then I’ll be unleashing someone with my powers on the world because without me, there is no one who can properly mentor them. If we can’t stabilize Matt then we should at least let him live while he’s here. I told Kara that I’d bring her over after work so you could all meet the twins, I hope that’s alright.”

“You’re bringing them over tomorrow, that’s great.” said Martha.

“Lois suggested I bring them into work tomorrow, establish their cover story.”

“Which is?” asked Jon.

“High school girlfriend gave up our sons in a closed adoption and never told me. Matt contracted a rare, terminal disease and the doctors had me tracked down, looking for a familial match for treatment. We’re gonna say Matt spent half his life in the hospital.”

“Seems a little complicated,” commented Jon.

“Matt’s eyes are blue on black and we need an excuse for why I’m learning about them now. A closed adoption would make it more difficult to track me down, especially if I never knew about them and thus never signed their birth certificates.”

“I see,” said Martha. “Who came up with this?”

“Lois and I talked about it after she asked Conner a few questions and he kept looking at me. I’m going to coach him on keeping answers brief to avoid complicating the story further. When Lois asked for his mom’s name, he dodged that question well.” Clark sighed, “It’s gonna be tricky since Matt’s eyes are weird and I haven’t gotten the name for the rare but fatal disease that we’re going with. I told Bruce our cover story so hopefully, he’ll come up with something appropriate.” He smiled, “Knowing Bruce, he’ll create a few web pages in case someone looks up the name of the disease instead of letting it just be super rare and hard to spell.”

Martha said, “I can’t wait to meet the twins.”

“If Bruce makes a breakthrough-“ Clark stopped talking and put a finger to his ear where his comlink was. “Yeah? Alright, I will.” Turning his com off, he explained “Bruce finished the paperwork for a few teen metas and asked me to deliver it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

**Metropolis**

**July 6, 10:30 EDT**

Clark led the twins into the Daily Planet bullpen. Perry White demanded “Where have you been, Kent?”

Clark's voice took on a stutter as he said, “Hey, Chief. I'd like you to meet my sons Conner and Matthew.” To the twins, he said “Conner, Matt, this is my boss Perry White.”

“Hello, Mr. White.” said Conner.

“Which is which, Kent?”

“Conner wears blue, Matthew red. I met them last night. Matt barely talks.” Lois turned to Clark “Tell him why you're just now involved in their lives.”

“Matt's dying,” snapped Conner. He looked at his father, “Can we play on your computer?”

“Uh, sure.” Clark showed them to his desk, quickly logging in before hurrying into his editor's office when the man called him.

“Sit down, Clark.” The old reporter sounded weary.

“Chief?”

“How long does Matthew have?”

“The doctors tracked me down looking for a familial match and they're hopeful. Child services rushed the transfer of custody.” Clark sighed heavily, “Matt could have a few days or a few years left in him.”

“Docs don't know.”

“He's spent half his life in the hospital.” Clark’s smile didn’t reach his eyes “He’s surpassed expectations.” Clark assured him “I can work around his hospital schedule, Chief.”

“We'll do that.” Perry asked “How old are they?”

“16.”

“If you need help,”

“I just need to get more work so I can support them.”

Perry White sighed “You're a good reporter, Kent.” He followed the commendation with an easy assignment.

“Thanks, Chief. I appreciate this.” Clark stopped by his desk to collect a few things, “Matt, Conner, stay here.” They nodded.

Lois followed Clark to the elevator “What’s the verdict?”

“Perry’s gonna give me easy assignments to work around Matt’s appointments.”

“Alright.”

**17:40 EDT**

The twins were bored by the time Clark finished work, Perry had called to give him a few more assignments. Bruce had also called to check in and deliver an update. After submitting his work, Clark said “Ready to go?”

Both boys jumped to their feet, Conner answered “Yeah, dad.”

Clark chuckled “Alright, let me log out and clock out and we’ll be on our way.”

Jimmy had left a couple hours prior, wishing the Kents luck. Word travelled fast in a building of reporters. Lois and Jimmy were Clark’s two closest professional friends but something told the man from Kansas that everyone knew by now.

At the apartment, they changed into their uniforms and called Kara to meet them at the farm. Match could fly, Superboy could not so his brother supported him on the flight down. When they arrived, their cousin jokingly asked “What took you?”

Superboy glared at her and Superman answered “Kon’s powers haven’t fully developed.”

Kara quickly said “I was kidding.”

Clark changed and gave the twins some flannel. Nodding at the house, he told them “Go upstairs and change.” Once they were inside, he turned to Kara “I was wondering about Kryptonian legends, Matt could use a codename for training since Kon is Superboy.”

“Flamebird and Nightwing were a crime-fighting duo on Krypton, kinda like Batman and Robin.”

“Flamebird,” the twins ran outside. It took a moment for Clark to realize Matt had spoken, the twins sounded so much alike.

“That settles that. Now we just have to wait and hope Batman can find a fix before training this weekend.” Clark introduced, “Conner, Matthew, this is our cousin Kara.” Pulling out the paper of names, he showed them “Kara helped me figure out Kryptonian names for you. How do Kon-El and Mon-El sound?”

They smiled, Conner asked “I’m Kon-El, right?”

“Yeah.” He pointed to the name “Kara showed me how to write our names in Kryptonian.” They took the paper.

Jon chuckled as he and Martha walked over “They even act like twins.”

“We are twins,” Conner said “We’re just not actually 16 years old.” He looked between Clark and the old couple.

“Conner, Matthew, these are my adoptive parents, your grandparents.”

“Grandparents?” said Matt.

Conner said “Yeah, means they’re dad’s mom and dad.” His brother nodded in understanding and he explained to the others “His program’s incomplete,” handing the paper back.

“That’s why he doesn’t talk,” said Kara and Clark in unison.

Conner chuckled “You didn’t know, I thought it was obvious.”

“I thought it was the trance,” explained Clark.

“Oh, that makes sense,” said Conner slowly.

Clark shrugged and froze before a smile spread across his face. He got into a running stance, “Conner, let’s race.” Conner shrugged, mimicking his stance.

They both took off like a shot and Kara caught Clark’s parents. She smiled “He’s definitely got speed. Wonder where they’re going?”

Martha chuckled “My guess is the Fortress.”

Kara said “Maybe.” They came back with a white dog in a red collar. “Krypto!”

“Krypto?” Matt tilted his head.

Conner explained “He's a Kryptonian dog.” Turning to Kara, “You and Clark are cousins not siblings, so half of your DNA is completely different.” He rubbed his neck “I was thinking about the splicing thing.”

“You're not wrong but I think Kal is working on something else.”

Clark said “Right. Batman's studying some data from the Fortress to fix-” he cut himself off and herded his fellow Kryptonians closer to the house.

A moment later, his sons and cousin heard the truck tires. They all filed into the house, spreading out around the living room before Clark continued “I took Batman to the Fortress to do some research.”

Both twins echoed “Fortress?”

Kara explained “Jor-El, your biological grandfather, sent Kal to Earth to keep the legacy of Krypton alive. The Fortress of Solitude is what Kal calls the place he put all the other stuff Uncle Jor sent with him. Batman should be able to figure out a fix.”

“If he’s Kal, am I Kon?” asked Conner.

“Yes and Matt is Mon,” answered Kara with a smile.

**Watchtower**

**July 7, 8:30 UTC**

Superman dropped the twins off in the infirmary before going to work after Batman called to report they had a possible solution to Match’s instability. During the call Superman informed his friend of the clone’s chosen codename. The clones’ faces were priceless when the system recognized Match as Flamebird. Green Arrow had greeted them at the Zeta platform with “So you found a codename? Mind helping me find new monikers for my twins?”

The Man of Steel smiled at the Emerald Archer as they began walking towards the infirmary with Superboy pointing things out to Flamebird, telling his brother the names of each thing. “Flamebird was part of a crime-fighting duo on Krypton along with Nightwing. It was either that or Kandor.” With a shrug, he said, “Maybe you could call Tuppence Kandor and Tommy Krypt. I don’t know.”

“Thanks anyway. Red sun lamps depower you, right?”

“Right.”

“I think that’s what we’re gonna use to administer Flamebird’s treatment.”

They reached the infirmary room, “You’ll stay with them?”

“Of course.”

“Good, I gotta go.”

Green Arrow waited with the twins until Doctor Midnight arrived. The archer pulled Superboy into the hall while the good doctor turned the lights to red sun frequency. The young half-alien hybrid asked “Is Mat- Flamebird going to be okay?”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine but they gotta expose him to something that’s gonna strip his powers and I just thought you’d rather be out here where you can keep your powers.” GA asked “Are you hungry?” Superboy hesitated before nodding.

**Smallville**

Clark met his sons at the family farm after work, “How’d it go?”

Matt said “It worked.”

Conner added “Martian Manhunter took him out of his trance after Doctor Midnight finished treatment, they both examined him and couldn’t find any instability.”

“Doctor Midnight was surprised I wasn’t deformed when he studied the glitches.”

“He wants to check me out to make sure Cadmus didn’t add anything bad on purpose but since my DNA’s stable and Martian Manhunter already got rid of my triggers, he’s cool with waiting.”

“Can we join the team for training Friday?” asked Matt, wrapping up their report.

“Sure. How do like your codename? Getting used to it?”

“Yup, Green Arrow used it a lot, I think he was trying to help with that.”

Jon came over to the family of three, “I wouldn’t mind having these two around some more during the summer.” He chuckled, “Your ma and I were talking about it, and we’d call it a summer job, give the boys' an allowance.”

Clark said “Mr. White’s been giving me easy assignments so I can stay close to the boys in case Matt needs emergency treatment.”

“Are we gonna say Matt’s cured now?” asked Conner.

“We’re going to say the treatment’s working,” confirmed Clark. He leaned against the barn wall, “Now we need to talk about schooling.” Matt looked down. “The good thing about our cover story is that we can claim you were in the ICU a lot and start you off in some catch up courses to put you in the same grade as your brother. However, you’ll both have to take aptitude classes regardless so we can give you proper transcripts. You’ll be returning to the Watchtower tomorrow with your team to take these tests.”

“What’s there to talk about then?” asked Conner.

Clark smiled “Extracurriculars and electives. Your aptitude tests will only cover core classes, English, Math, Science and Social Studies. We need to work on your background. There are programs I can go through if you want to play sports that will cover the fees.” His smile fell, “Matt, you don’t have as many options since you’re supposed to be fresh out of the hospital.” The teens both nodded in understanding. “You both have the rest of the summer to figure what you do and don’t like. We just need to put together basic transcripts tomorrow. I’m sure Batman will be very precise about when you were in the hospital. Alright?” To his pa, he said “I think a summer job would be great. I just need to figure out how much I can let Matt be ‘working’ during his recovery.”

“We understand.” Jon told the twins “That means you can spend time down here when your dad’s at work and we’ll send him a little bit of money from time to time, call it your pay.”

“We’re 16,” Conner said as if just realizing something “We’re old enough to drive.”

“You are,” Clark said “A boy who spent most of his life in a hospital bed probably won’t have a license but his brother might.”

“Right.” Conner asked “What are our middle names?”

“I was thinking we’d use your grandfathers’ names, Jonathan and Gabriel.” explained Clark.

“Gabriel?” wondered Matt.

“Gabriel Sullivan, according to your birth certificate your mother was Chloe Sullivan and I’ve already run the story by her.”

“She knows?”

“She was one of my best friends in high school, she figured it out and I trust her. So your names are Conner Gabriel Kent and Matthew Jonathan Kent, according to your records. Later this month, early next we'll have to look at high schools. Metropolis has more than one public high school. Your academic level when the school years start will factor into the choice of school." He verbalized his plans more for his benefit than his sons’.

Martha said "Clark, you know you probably qualify for state support? You're a single parent with two dependents now."

"Yeah, a colleague pointed that out today."

"Well good, let's go inside and get some food in all of you before you fly back."

Clark said, "Matt, can you fly Connor here and back while I'm at work? You'll need to be back by 5."

"Okay."

The next day, the twins met Bruce after coming home from the farm. He brought Dick and impressed in them the need for secrecy, admitting they were being told because Clark used the wrong name more often than not. Thursday, all the ex-cons and clones took aptitude tests alongside Torch to get ready for school. Friday, they met the sidekicks at Mt. Justice.


	3. Queen

Taking in a pair of meta-teens and his ward, after raising a clone, was easier said than done. Batman helped push through the paperwork for all of Torch's recruits, not to mention the metahuman himself. But that still left Oliver to explain why and how he went from one ward to four. Dinah read Bruce's cover story while Oliver stressed. Pulling his hands down from his face, she showed him the file containing the story, "Ollie, the story is pretty simple. You took in a couple of at-risk youths who kept Roy's twin brother William safe."

"William?"

"Roy's middle name, Bruce included an explanation for that too."

Oliver read the file, realizing then that there were five files and four teens. Calling his four charges to his office, he noticed Roy was still wary of the twins. The billionaire sighed "What'd they do today?"

"Nothing," answered William "Apparently yesterday is another story."

"Tommy, Tuppence, don't terrorize your brother." Oliver looked through the files one last time. "Okay, Batman has everything figured out, apparently. Red Arrow," he pointed to the clone "You are Roy's twin, you were raised by another family until you wound up in foster care where you met Tommy and Tracy Tupper, two at-risk youths who looked out for you." He turned to the twins "To make the story more believable, you were raised out west in Arizona but your parents were from the south. That covers your accent and how you know Roy's twin."

Roy asked "Shouldn't it be the other way around? I'm the missing twin so you don't have to explain how I lost my arm in so little time."

William mused "If I contacted you, you might have driven with emotional impairment."

Oliver handed the two Harpers their files, "Batman's idea of a cover. Figure out what you want to do, the paper trail is all set up." Turning to the twins, "Either way, I met you through Roy's twin and adopted you as my wards, seeing as Roy is legally 18 and thus an adult." He handed them their files "Again, Batman already made the paper trail to match the cover story."

"What's the last one?" asked William.

"My copy of the cover story. I'll need those files back but you need to memorize them first."

Presenting the twins, both sets, went as well as could be. The Tupper twins took their aptitude tests with the rest of their crew and they were enrolled in Star Academy. Oliver set up trusts for William, Thomas and Tracy, leaving Roy as his heir. The trusts included college funds that could only be cashed out a decade after his death, to encourage the trio to attend college.

Friday, the four arrived at Mount Justice together, joining Cameron and the other sidekicks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally uploaded the next chapter twice. Now that's fixed, this is the intended Queen chapter


	4. Artemis

Keeping his promise, Green Arrow spoke with Batman about recruiting Artemis to the Renegades. Both vigilantes visited the home of Paula and Artemis Crock in Gotham City. The former Huntress called her daughter into the living room after hearing the heroes out. As she came into the room, Artemis said "I'm heading out, mom. What do you-?" Looking up, she saw two Justice Leaguers standing in front of her mother. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Just the opposite," said Green Arrow. "We're not here to arrest you, we're here to recruit you for a new Justice League program, the Renegades. Cameron Mahkent asked me to look into you, he's in the program. He was impressed you stayed out of the business, we are too."

"What?"

Paula said, "Sit down, Artemis."

Sitting on the couch, she narrowed his eyes "Am I really supposed to believe Icicle Junior is in a Justice League program?"

"He said you two used to team up on your sister when your fathers made you spar. Other than you, he says his powers were his only friend growing up."

"Cam would never-"

"Torch, the Terror Twins and Cameron broke out of Belle Reve, spent weeks living on the streets and pulled off a rescue mission at Cadmus just a few days ago. The Renegades program starts at the end of the week. If you're in, we'll provide body armor and weapons. You can meet Batman on the roof whenever you decide."

Green Arrow turned to leave when Artemis said, "Wait." He looked over his shoulder "What about patrol? Heroes patrol, right?"

Batman spoke up for the first time since Artemis entered the room "Since you live in Gotham, I will coordinate patrols. You may occasionally patrol with Green Arrow if either of you feel you need to work on your skills."

"Or if you have a night off patrol with him and both of my partners are busy, I might steal you away for a night. Who knows?" Green Arrow turned around "But, yeah, I have two partners already and you live in Batman's territory so you'll work with him most of the time. Trying not to spread ourselves too thin."

"And all of the Renegades, they'll know?"

"Not unless you want 'em to or feel the need to tell them." Green Arrow shrugged "We look enough alike, I was thinking we could say you're my niece but my partners already know, I told them about you so this" he gestured to the four of them "wouldn't come off as a betrayal like I'm replacing Red Arrow. Think it over and remember, rooftop."

Artemis glanced at her mother before telling the two heroes "I'm in."

"Alrighty then. Uh," Green Arrow looked at Batman before turning back to Artemis "We'll need some time to get armor and weapons together."

Batman said "I'll be back tomorrow night at the start of patrol." Then they both left through the window.

* * *

As soon as Artemis stepped through the Zeta Tube into Mt. Justice, Cameron tackled her "You're here."

"Yeah, Cam, I'm here and I'm in."

Tommy Terror pulled Cameron off her by the back of his shirt and Tuppence helped Artemis up while Green Arrow was too busy chuckling to intervene. Torch barked "Renegades fall in."

The young heroes ran to form a line in front of him and just as Aqualad said "Today is the day," the Zeta Tube announced two new arrivals.

Torch greeted the older magician "I take it you're letting her join."

As the two newcomers came around to the front of the group, Zatara said "Yes. Knowing my daughter, she'd probably just sneak out and patrol anyway."

The girl in question said "That's true."

"Zatanna, why don't you join the Renegades then?" The warning in Torch's voice was clear. As the young magician took her place beside Aqualad, Torch began "The Renegades are to be an elite covert team. To that end, you will all have to demonstrate mastery of hand-to-hand combat skills. You are the future," he smiled "Let's make it a bright one. Your first training session begins in two hours. Said training will have a strict no weapons, no powers rule when training with me. If you struggle to follow that rule, I will lock up your weapons and use power inhibiting cuffs to ensure you have no choice but to follow the rules. As this is the former headquarters of the Justice League, Superman has volunteered to show you around so you can spend more time getting to know each other before training. Any questions?" When none arose, he barked "Move out."

Superman, by comparison, was much nicer. Zatanna asked Cameron "Is he always like that?"

"Nah but this team was his idea," Cam shrugged before introducing himself "I'm Cameron, Cam for short or Arctic, Arc for short."

"Zatanna, nothing for short."

Artemis slowed her pace to walk beside Zatanna "Is that your real name or your codename? Or both?" She introduced herself "Artemis, real name and codename."

"Both, I don't really have a codename and my dad doesn't use one so I don't think I need one."

"Who names their kid Zatara?"

"It's his last name, dummy." said Artemis. She shrugged "Isn't he also a stage magician?"

"Yeah. He doesn't use real magic for his act but we both have real magic."

"No such thing as magic," argued Kid Flash from in front of them as they stopped walking because Superman realized no one was listening.

"Actually," began Cameron "I agree, sorta." When everyone turned to him, he explained, "To believe in magic is to believe in fate and to believe that is to believe my powers killed my mother in childbirth because I'm inherently evil. Magic's not the reason for everything but just because you don't experience something doesn't mean it's not real." He waved a hand from Speedy's stump down, making an arm and hand from ice. Before moving his hand up and down to make the hand flex. Turning to Kid Flash, he said "I believe that magic and science aren't the same thing but that doesn't make Speedy's new hand any less flexible even though it's solid ice."

"You have Cryokinesis," argued Kid Flash.

"I know," Cameron turned to Zatanna "Could you make that arm real or is the magic too advanced?"

"It's too advanced, it'd take too much energy. I'm sorry."

Cameron eyed Match "What if I asked you to fix something that had the energy just not the stability? Like him," he pointed to the clone "Could you change how his body processes energy?"

"In theory but the spell would have to be very exact. You heard my dad, he's grudgingly letting me do this."

"No he's not," Cam looked in her eyes "He's hoping to scare you away from the superhero business. My dad used to tell me Batman could kill you with a glare and that the Batmobile transported anyone who wasn't Batman straight to Hell. He," Cam deflated "He was an abusive asshole who only kept me because my powers were useful." He looked ahead "Come on, let's get on with the tour." Cam moved to the head of the pack before anyone could say anything.

Artemis snapped "Nice going, Kid Mouth."

"Me? It was Zatanna that brought up dads."

"Because you had to open your big mouth and say magic isn't real."

The Terror Twins pushed them against opposite walls, speaking at the same time "Enough."

Tommy said "Zatanna, Artemis, walk with Cam. Robin, Aqualad keep Kid Flash away from them. The rest of us will walk in the middle. Got it?" Everyone nodded and the twins shoved their respective charges in opposite directions.

The tour went much better once the sidekicks and new heroes were kept separate. Afterwards, Superman pulled Kid Flash aside "Artemis and Cameron are new to being heroes. You have been Kid Flash for years, act like it."

When everyone was called for training, they found Torch waiting in the middle of a holographic ring in the area they'd entered the mountain through. "Who is the best fighter here?" Everyone pointed at Robin, Artemis going along because her hand-to-hand was a bit rusty. "Gloves, cape and belt off, set it all to the side then step into the ring. Your mentors are watching to see where you need improvement. Today is testing, tomorrow you will all begin regiments which your mentors will enforce throughout the week. Next weekend, Black Canary will train you and we'll rotate until you begin missions. To get there, both Black Canary and I will have to agree that you can fight well." He finished his spiel with "Watch your peers so you don't repeat their mistake."

Torch stepped out of the ring for a moment to take his jacket, shirt and shoes off, "Fair is fair, my jacket serves almost the same purpose as your cape. If I start to use my powers, you and your peers better call me out on it." He explained, "We'll do testing in three rounds. In each round, you'll have one chance to make me fail. Let me show you." He took a dive and the floor read fail. "Use of powers or weapons, though I intend to have you all disarm before each attempt, disqualifies you. Alright?" He assumed an open stance, "Robin, attack." The boy wonder was taken down in under a minute "If you know your mistake, I'd like you to share with the class."

Robin climbed to his feet "I underestimated my opponent."

"That's part of it. There's something else, I'm sure Batman would get on you for the other thing if you did it in the field."

"I let you control the fight."

"Exactly. Go join your peers, you can collect your gear after round three." As Robin joined them, Torch asked "Who is the next best fighter? We're going in order of skill for round one."

Artemis sighed "Guess I am." She dropped her bow and her backup along with her quiver beside Robin's belt, gloves and cape.

Red Arrow joined her to do the same "I'll go next, after Artemis."

The newest hero stepped into the ring and waited. Realizing what she was doing, Torch meekly said "Attack?"

Unlike Robin, Artemis' defeat wasn't swift. The Boy Wonder complained, "You went easy on her."

"Of course, she's new to the hero thing while you invented the sidekick. Whining is not acceptable for anyone your age, much less a role model."

Zatanna shuddered "If that's easy, I don't want to know what hard is."

"Don't worry, you're also new to the hero gig. I'm sure Torch will consider your dad didn't train you in hand-to-hand," said Cameron.

Aqualad drew attention back to the matter at hand by saying "I will go after Red Arrow. I believe my skills put me just below his level."

Torch pointed to the piles of gear "Your water bearers go there." Spreading his arms and legs in an open stance, he waited for Aqualad to rejoin the class in watching the ring before saying "Attack."

Swiftly, Red Arrow was flipped onto his back. "This isn't accurate, heroes get knocked down a lot in a fight."

"Yet after three fights, I've yet to be knocked down once."

"True," conceded the clone. "How'd you get so good? You almost never fight."

"When I joined the League a lot of my fellow inductees didn't think I belonged, Black Canary took me under her wing. I can also perform maintenance and pilot a Javelin, which is a Justice League jet." They kept going for a full round before Torch stepped out of the ring, undefeated.

As he put his shirt and jacket on, the Zeta Tube announced Black Canary's arrival. "None of us won," said Superboy miserably.

"You weren't supposed to," replied Torch, flanking Canary who was standing where the ring had been. "The point was not to win but to accept you have much to learn."

_Recognized Martian Manhunter 0-6, Miss Martian B-0-5, Captain Marvel 0-8._

Black Canary turned to the newcomers "I wasn't expecting you, Captain."

"Yeah, well," he said "Shazam!" Lightning struck, leaving a kid "I'd like to transfer, now that there's a kid team. Do I have to tell them my name?"

"If you want," Torch said "Actually, I think introductions are in order. You only have to share your codenames but everyone needs to have a name to call you. I'm Torch but you can call me Dean when we're off the clock."

"Artemis, real name and codename," said the archer stepping forward.

As the girl in green stepped back into the line as the magician beside her stepped forward "Zatanna, same."

And so began the routine, "I am Aqualad, my friends call me Kaldur."

"Robin."

"Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name. I'm Kid Flash, you can call me Wally."

"I'm Cameron, my codename is Arctic."

"Tommy, still working on a new codename."

"Tuppence, my brother and I are both working on a new codename. Terror Twins don't work as a hero name."

"I'm Red Arrow, call me Will."

"I'm Speedy, real name Roy."

"My name is M'gann M'orzz but my codename is Miss Martian, obviously you all heard the Zeta Tube."

"Captain Marvel, my real name is Billy." Torch waved the newcomers towards the group.

"Superboy, or Connor."

"Flamebird, or Matthew."

"Alright." Torch said "Until you're cleared for missions, your weekends will be spent here learning. During the summer, you'll spend more time here, both learning and bonding as teammates. As I said before, the goal of this program is to create a bright future for the Justice League. Black Canary?" His mentor took over as he left with Martian Manhunter.


	5. Rogues

In the Watchtower, Flash pulled him aside "Your Renegades team, think they'd mind a couple Rogues? Pied Piper and Trickster are both minors."

"I know, do you think the Rogues would allow us to recruit them for the program?"

"Only one way to find out. By the way, the government agreed to transfer non-powered villains to Blackgate."

"Blackgate?"

"Iron Heights has issues."

"Okay. So we'll talk to Captain Cold when?"

"We could do it now."

"If you say so."

Sitting down with Leonard Snart, Flash explained "The League has a program for minors in the game, we'd like to put Piper and Trickster in it. They'd get out on the condition that the League claim responsibility. You and the other non-powered villains are going to be transferred to Blackgate, we could have you transferred early if you're willing to get them in the program."

"Piper's parents bought him out of trouble last I heard."

"He doesn't respect them," Torch snapped "He respects you and so does Trickster. You're their mentor, as far as we care." Thinking about what he said, Torch smiled and added, "As a mentor you'd have a right to regular contact. That means they'd be on your approved visitors list and even if that right is revoked, the League can overrule the prison officials when your proteges need to see you."

"Now you're talking." He glanced at Flash before fully facing Torch, "I assume this is your program and that the kids you escaped with are in it."

"This program only works if we limit villains' knowledge of it, you understand?"

"Naturally." Len said "I'll tell Trickster and Piper to work with you in exchange for a clean slate. If they ever want out, you'll make that happen. If you ever need extra hands, you'll think of the Rogues, can't rob a dead world."

"Deal," Torch shook his hand. "See to it Icicle writes his son off, preferably in the dead-to-me category not the filicide category."

"Will do."

As they left, Flash said "Filicide? Where'd you learn that one?"

"I looked up the opposite of patricide. It's amazing how many 'cides there are."

A few hours later, Flash brought two more teens to Mt. Justice. "Arctic! Artemis! Come give the new guys a tour."

The two Rogues watched as the former Icicle Junior and Tigress ran into the entry chamber. "Piper, Trickster, meet Arctic and Artemis. They're the precedent along with the Terror Twins that made your membership in the Renegades program possible. They'll show you around, introduce you to the others. Tomorrow you'll take aptitude tests for school and spar with myself or Black Canary until we can determine skill level for training. I understand you both have genius level IQs, which is another reason for the aptitude test. Martian Manhunter will stay here with you." Torch finished with "Oh and my name is Dean Baxter, you can call me that when we're off the clock."

Piper and Trickster stared at him, gaping. The former finally said “I think that’s more than anyone has ever heard you say.”

Torch shrugged, “Arctic and Artemis will show you around and introduce you to the other trainees. Do you mind if your teammates know your real names? Keep in mind, you will be living here for the rest of the summer and in your case,” he addressed Trickster “for school.”

The former acrobat said “I don’t care. We’re off the clock now, right?”

“Yes.”

Arctic said “In that case, call me Cam.”

“Artemis is my code name and my real name.”

Trickster introduced himself with a bow “James Jesse, formerly of the Flying Jesses, at your service.”

Piper groaned and said “Hartley Rathaway.”

“Looks like you’re all set, Flash and I will leave you to it.”

After they left, Cam and Artemis showed the newcomers to the lounge. Kid Flash said “Dudes, you got in!” He and Trickster exchanged excited greetings while Piper hung back.

To the other teens, he explained “Torch talked to Captain Cold, who is officially our mentor. He and Flash took Cold to see Tricks in the hospital to recruit him. They called my parents from there, told my folks about the program before putting Cold on to talk to me. Pretty sweet deal, we do this and our records get sealed when we’re 18. Plus, my parents have to let me practice music because I can’t do my schtick without my flute.”

“Nice,” said red shirt Superboy. “What about him?”

“I don’t know, I was recruited last.”

Tricks told them “Flasher said KF was in the program and Cold said it was all cool.”

“Plus you get out of the hospital,” added KF.

Tommy clapped his hands “Alright, introductions. Me and Tuppence ain’t changed our names, still working on superhero names. You already know Artemis and Arctic.”

Red shirt Superboy said “I’m Flamebird or Matthew.”

“Flamebird?” Piper barely suppressed a laugh.

“Yeah, after a Kryptonian hero.”

“Why not just Krypton? It’s short, sweet and you don’t have to explain it. Flamebird sounds like a girl’s name.”

“It was either Flamebird or Nightwing.”

“Nightwing sounds like a guy’s name.”

He pointed from himself to his brother, “Red, blue.”

“You chose Flamebird because it works with your color scheme. I still say it’s a girl’s name.”

“Yeah.”

His brother put a hand on his shoulder “We’ll think about changing it. The name is temporary until we get in the field. I’m Superboy, or Connor.”

“Figured you had to be Superboy for him to need another name.” Piper asked “Why not go with Nightwing? Keep with a theme.”

“Yeah,” agreed Trickster. “I’m James Jesse and he’s Hartley Rathaway, by the way.”

The green skinned girl said “I’m Miss Martian or Megan, technically my name M’gann M’orzz but Megan is an Earth name and I’m on Earth now.”

“Alright,” Trickster nodded.

Kid Flash said “Wally West.”

Aqualad said “My name is Kaldur’ahm but my friends call me Kaldur.”

Robin said “Batman forbid me from giving away my secret identity.”

Zatanna said “Zatanna Zatara, my dad uses his last name as his hero name so I plan on using my first name.”

The kid in the red hoodie said “Billy Batson, I’m also Captain Marvel.”

“Really?” asked Hartley in disbelief.

“Shazam!” Lightning struck turning the boy into Captain Marvel before he repeated the word to change back “Really. I also have limited magic in this form.”

The one-armed red head said “I’m Speedy, or Roy.”

“Red Arrow, or William.”

Hartley gaped “There’s two of you?”

“Seriously, not gonna question the twin Superboys or Captain Marvel being a ten year old but twin archers surprise you?” said Artemis.

“Magic is weird and I figure the only way Supes can have a kid is if it’s a clone, two clones ain’t that crazy,” explained Hartley.

William said “Technically I’m a clone, he’s the original.”

“Ah,” drawled Hartley before asking “Who was doing all this cloning?”

“Cadmus Labs in DC,” answered Robin.

“Got a computer I can use?” asked Hartley before glancing at Trickster and amended “We can use?”

“Not at the moment, we all just came here for a meet and greet. We were told to chill here.”

Artemis said “Let’s finish the tour. You can pick out your rooms.”

Connor said “Roy and William, me and Matt, we got the rooms with two beds. You guys were sorta last minute additions.”

“Figured,” said Hartley.

James shrugged “Sweet deal either way.”

Megan said “There should be a couple rooms right next to each other, anyway.”

When the mentors came to the Mountain to pick up their proteges, Batman said “Billy Batson, your Justice League ID card.”

The ten year old handed it over, “Does this mean I can transfer teams or are you firing me?”

“You already transferred,” answered Flash. “Batman needs to disable your ID card so there’s no takesies backsies.”

“I will also reprogram the Zeta Tube to recognize you as Captain Marvel in your civilian form.”

“Cool. How?”

“Just stand still.” A light swept over Billy a few times before vanishing, “There, it’s done.”

“You should tell your guardian you switched teams, since the schedule is a little different.”

“Yeah, no missions during school. I think he’ll like that.”

“Good. You’re all set to leave.”

Torch corrected him “Rejoin the team, there’s a few other things that need to be taken care of before everyone leaves.” The Renegades lined up in front of the Leaguers. “First off, Martian Manhunter?”

The Martian stepped forward and assumed his civilian identity “My Earth name is John Jones and I will be the legal guardian for those living here full time. I will also be working with you all on mental defenses.”

Hartley said “So me, James and Megan?”

“It’s possible we’ll have more members,” said Torch. “Since my estimated age is 17, I will retain League membership so long as I attend and complete high school. If I drop out, I’m out.”

Superman said “I will be working with the Renegades who share my powers, including the Terror Twins, Miss Martian and Aqualad who have varying degrees of super strength. Gotta work on those landings so you don’t endanger the people you’re trying to save.”

Black Canary said “I will work with you on combat training with Torch assisting. Some days, as planned, we will enact a rule of no powers, no weapons but our goal is to make you capable fighters. Captain Atom will work with you on military strategy.”

Flash said “I’ll work with the Super twins on speed and help Canary with training from time to time.”

Hartley nodded “Only way to stop a speedster is to predict where they’re going to be. If you can’t do that, all you’ll ever hit is air.”

Aquaman said “Each of your individual mentors will find a way to work on team training.”

Hartley raised his hand and waited for the Leaguers to acknowledge him, “Then shouldn’t Cold be teaching the team strategy, he’s mine and Tricks’ mentor. He leads the Rogues which means he’s the one telling us how to stop the Flash from stopping us. Atom don’t have anyone in the program.”

“We’ll figure something out,” assured Canary. Torch whispered something in her ear that the Super twins pretended not to hear. “We’ll have to make arrangements with the prison but we will figure something out.”

“Alright, all I wanted to ask.”

Flash said “I’ll take Trickster and Piper to pick up some of their things.”

"Wait a minute, I just thought of something." Trickster asked "Why can't I stay with Lisa?"

"Because she's not home more than she is." Flash answered "I'd ask the Rathaways to take you both but I'm going to have enough trouble convincing them Hartley needs to practice a normal flute to keep his skills sharp."

Hartley said "You forgot to take James' meds when you took him from the hospital. He'll need to get back on them if you want him to take any aptitude tests. I'm not taking mine without him, Rogues stick together."

Flash smiled "Everyone step back. I want one of the Renegades to try to take down Pied Piper and Trickster." The fight against Artemis was over before it began, Piper simply hypnotized her to leave the ring.

"No fair! No fair!" cried Trickster from where he was floating in the air "I call foul! I didn't get to play," he pouted.

"Wow. Your meds must've worn off."

Hartley said "Even the Rogues keep him on meds, just not the same ones the hospital gives him." He left the ring, "Next one's yours, Tricks." The other Rogue teen went from pouty to excited so fast it was like a switch was flipped.

Arctic stepped into the ring, icing it and running around as Trickster bombarded him with various gimmicks that he got rid of by freezing before lopping off the additional ice. Trickster's smile only grew with the challenge. He herded the meta to the edge of the ring, targeting his legs once at the edge so the other teen would fall out of bounds."I win! I win!" He blew raspberries at Cam as the ice vanished under the combined efforts of Torch and Arctic. Landing safely in the ring, he bowed to the stunned heroes on either side of him, who dazedly clapped.

"What the-?"

Hartley joined James, "It takes strategy to fight a speedster, something heroes tend to lack." He led the unhinged acrobat to KF before guiding both towards Flash "Let's go get our stuff." The speedsters took the two Rogues through the Zeta Tube.

Cameron asked "Are we dismissed?"

"Yes," answered Batman.

The Leaguers took their Renegade charges home in groups until only Torch and Red Tornado were left. "They call you Reddy, right?"

"Some do, yes."

"Could you tell me what the chances of this working are?"

A few moments later, Red Tornado said "The variables are too numerous to glean an accurate estimate."

"Thanks anyway."


End file.
